Stay Away
by splintered
Summary: Tai had always been the kind of guy to wear shorts, so when Taichi walked into church one Sunday morning in a pair of dark skinny jeans, Yamato knew something was wrong. Can Yama uncover the truth and horrors in order to save his friend? YAMACHI


**Disclaimer**: No matter how much I torture the character, I don't own _Digimon._ Just putting that out there...

**Summary: **Tai had always been the kind of guy to wear shorts, so when Taichi Yagami walked into church one Sunday morning in a pair of dark skinny jeans, Yamato Ishida was more than a little surprised. However, to uncover the truth, is Yamato ready to go at great lengths to uncover the truth and horrors surrounding Tai and rescue a friend? Sometimes, the reality of losing someone is the most frightning prospect of all. Yamachi

--

**Stay Away***

By: splintered

Tai had always been the kind of guy to wear shorts—even in the middle of January's subzero temperatures and icy cold winds—so when Taichi Yagami walked into church one Sunday morning in a pair of dark skinny jeans, Yamato Ishida was more than a little surprised. Yamato didn't even know that his best friend _owned _a pair of skinny jeans, much less own _any _article of clothing that was not oversized and baggy. Let's just say, Yamato enjoyed the change of scenery. Taichi, however, could not be more oblivious to his best friend's mischievous eyes and drooling tongue.

"Move over," Tai mumbled as he elbowed his friend. Yamato willingly obliged, his curious blue eyes still rested on his friend as he scooted over on the wooden church pew. _Taichi certainly didn't act any different from usual_, Yamato thought. The brunette still looked as tired as he looked every Sunday morning. He knew that the only reason that Taichi even showed up at church each Sunday morning at the crack of dawn was that his parents forced him come. Yamato's situation was similar to Taichi's, but the blonde didn't mind coming to church. Church was the only time that his family spent together anymore. Even after his parent's divorce, Mr. Ishida and Mrs. Takashi still found time to be civil to each other in church. So, unlike his best friend, Yamato usually looked forward to church, and was always awake at the crack of dawn. Taichi, however... The brunette's half-lidded golden brown eyes still looked lost and bewildered, as he sleepily stared at the rising church congregation while taking his seat next to Yamato. Now, it was Yamato's turn to nudge his friend.

"Stand up," the blond hissed as the crowd started singing. Yamato could hear the Yagami and Ishida families snicker behind him, as he pulled Tai up to his feet. He could swear that he could hear Takeru and Hikari whispering about them, but maybe he was only being paranoid. Most of the time, Yamato and Tai's younger siblings were making up mushy stuff—which was totally beyond Yamato. Did he flirt with girls when he was Takeru's age? Probably not. Yamato didn't even like girls (not that anybody knew...). The person he liked was (sort of) standing right next to him...well, if you could call that standing....Taichi was more like...leaning on him. Yamato draped a hand around Taichi's waist, supporting the brunette.

"They dress funny," Taichi whispered, resting his head on Yamato's shoulder. Yamato's eyes followed Taichi's gaze. The priest had finally made his appearance with his parade of Alter Boys and other religious people as the opening song was played.

Yamato absently nodded, more focused on Tai's warm body that was leaning against him. Taichi's soft chocolate-colored hair tickled against his neck. Of course, this wasn't different from usual either, but Yamato still couldn't shake the feeling that _something _wasn't right. Okay, so Tai looked very good in skinny jeans (Yamato was tempted to feel out his friend...but that would be weird and they were in church.)...and he would probably look even better without them on (_Yeah...get your mind out of the gutter, Yamato,_ the blonde admonished himself)...but why was he wearing them in the first place? Were they even Tai's jeans? And if they weren't, to whom did those pants belong to? The jeans were starting to look a little on the feminine side...but maybe that was because Yamato saw more of Tai than he usually did? No, that's a lie. What about the time when the Digidestines had a pool party and Tai was dripping wet in a bathing suit...and that other time when...Okay, so Yamato did see a lot of Tai...but Tai does have a nice ass...and he should wear skinny jeans more often, but if Tai was wearing someone else's skinny jeans, who was wearing Tai's shorts? The questions lingered in Yamato's mind as Yamato and Taichi's Sunday ritual continued.

And through all the standing and sitting, and singing and listening, everything was normal for the most part. Tai was still Tai, leaning on his shoulder, snoring softly as the priest gave his homily. Takeru and Hikari were still whispering about something or another. His parents were still being civil to each other. And he was still lusting after his best friend—such unholy thoughts in such a holy place. It wasn't until the kneeling part of the mass that Yamato became seriously worried about the abnormality concerning his best friend.

For example, when the entire church congregation got on their knees and prayed, Tai kinda sat there. And then, when Yamato called him out on it, Tai laughed nervously, before wincing slightly as his knees hit the cold hard tiled floor. _It must be the skinny jeans_, Yamato thought. On most occasions, Tai was the very first one on his hands and knees, fidgeting. The boy could never really sit still long enough...and once upon a time, an hour spent in church felt like eternity. Yamato decided to ask his friend about them later.

Later, however, after the "Mass has ended, now go in peace to live and serve the Lord" part of the ceremony, Tai promptly left, mumbling incoherent excuses about why he had to ditch his family and leave early. But that didn't explain why Tai was making excuses to ditch Yamato too. The two boys usually spent all their weekend together and now...Tai was wearing skinny jeans and making excuses. Could there be a _girl_? And that didn't even explain the wincing. The questions continued to swirl within Yamato's mind. Was Tai in trouble?

--

Hours later, his suspicions were confirmed. Yamato came home to his apartment at quarter to midnight to seven frantic answering machine messages, each growing more alarming in manner. One was from Hikari, five were from Mrs. Yagami throughout the course of the day, and one was from Taichi himself. Hikari wanted to Yamato to pass a note to her brother, Mrs. Yagami wanted to know if Yamato has seen Tai since church that morning (The answer is no.), and Tai...Tai's message gave him chills, and not in the good way either...

_"Yama? Yama?...can you hear me?"_ Tai's voice came desperately on the phone. "_I...I..." _Yamato listened to his friend give that broken shuddery breath. Was Tai crying? _"...need...you to...stay away..." _Stay away? Stay away from who...or what?_ "...I'm okay...don't come after..." _Yamato paused, waiting for Tai to finish. When he didn't, however, Yamato's fingers lingered over the delete button, assuming that this was another one of Tai's prank calls. However, when a new voice entered the line, Yamato became genuinely concerned for his best friend.

_--_

_"Yamato Ishida, I have your friend, Taichi Yagami," _a raspy voice whispered in a frightening monotone. _"If you wish to see your friend alive again, I want you too..." _Yamato could hear Taichi's muffled scream in the background, drowning the figure's words. _If you want to see your friend alive again... _

No...Tai...

_--_

**Author's Note: **Okay, so I started another story when I was supposed to be updating all my other ones, right? Well, enjoy. I do love cliffhangers, don't I? So, what do you think will happen? Honestly, I have no idea myself. I'm just kinda writing as I go along. So, please review? Maybe your theories will inspire something and I'll continue this. ^_^ Oh yeah, and Happy V-Day!

--splintered

*Title subject to change.


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